Guest Post by Erica (Queen City E) - TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF!

Today, I present Penny Pimpin's first guest post by my sister, Erica (QueenCityE).  She is pimping a concept that is so perfect for this blog because it includes some of our favorite books and tv shows.  Oh...and a whoooole lot of shirtlessness!  Enjoy!   

Pimpin a concept: Take Your Shirt Off!

I was talking to a male friend the other day, who was also a fan of the Legend of the Seeker series (based on the Sword of Truth fantasy series by Terry Goodkind). We discussed how much we enjoyed the Seeker concept and the actors and actresses chosen for the series. From the male perspective, it seems there were no bad choices as far as the females featured on the show (though many of them were annoying, he found most of them easy on the eyes.) For me, one of the selling points was how often The Seeker (Craig Horner) was filmed without a shirt on.

I mentioned this, and he seemed to be surprised I'd be interested in such a small guy. I had to school him on one of my philosophies...and a concept I'd like to "Pimp" here on my sisters blog; the more shirtless, the better.

I find many of my favorite television experiences in recent years have had a lot to do with how much bare chest I get to see. There is a direct correlation to how well a show is doing to how much skin is shown or is that just my personal opinion?

I'm not the biggest fan of the True Blood series, mostly because I loved the Sookie Stackhouse books, but I did not miss an episode with Eggs; because he was almost certain to be shown sans shirt. To be honest, all the shows that Mehcad Brooks has been on understood that the more you show his rippling and glistening chocolate body the better!

His character, Jerome, from The Game may have started out in an Skybox suite trying to impress his bosses, but before long he was sunning poolside in Miami showing off his amazing abs. With his background in basketball (he starred in the movies Glory Road and Just Wright) it's no surprise the producers of The Deep End had him showing off his guns in a basketball scene, but I think the show would have made it longer if they'd had him play in a skins vs. shirts game, with Brooks being on the skins team! The same is true about his other failed series, My Generation, which showed him in a wife beater, but not out of one!

The 6'5 native Texan, Brooks, seems to have hit gold with the AllState commercial, in which he is the wished for "new boyfriend" who appears, surprise, surprise, shirtless! Oh yeah. No surprise that is my favorite commercial.

True Blood may not have a script I enjoy, but I can't complain about some of their overall casting choices. Another 6'5 hunk is Alcide, played by Pittsburgh native Joe Manganiello.

He's of course been shirtless in that Louisiana heat, but fans of How I Met Your Mother will remember his shirtless scenes in NYC. His character, Brad, was only in five or six episodes, but made the biggest impression on me when he surrendered the shirt off his back to his friend Marshall on his wedding day and then ran around the wedding with nothing on under his jacket. I'm starting to think that's how I'd like my groom to dress:D

There are other shows that understand shirtless is better. Dmitry on So You Think You Can Dance showed that a little chest never hurt anyone. And the producer's of Dancing With The Stars, unlike his counterparts on the football field, had no problems not covering Ochocinco.

Another friend just reminded me of how much Shonda Rimes must subscribe to my theory, as well, because the Grey's Anatomy cast is always featuring at least one of the physicians without their scrubs or lab coat. These days 6'1 former teacher Jessie Williams, aka Dr. Jackson Avery, has been doing the topless taunt more often than not. Wasn't McSteamy's first episode one in which he walked out the shower in just a towel?

 Ms. Rimes, I think we could be friends.

Finally, the producers that really understand and put into action the "Bare is Better" mantra is Smallville. Whether it's Clark Kent (Tom Welling), Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), or Aquaman (Alan Ritchson), when they are not in street clothes, often times they are missing half their apparel altogether. In addition, another bonus is they often show members of this terrific trio wet, sometimes just standing topless in the rain.

It goes without saying that a period piece like Spartacus has a lot of bronzed beefcake...which is another great reason to give the Starz series a look. However, the History Channel also gives you some strong sternums to eyeball, so don't sleep on them either.

All in all what I'm basically saying, and the overall message I want to convey here, is the same thing I used to yell at my TV during Legend of the Seeker. Come on, "Take Your Shirt Off!!!"

Here, here!  Thanks for the post, Erica!!  So, what do you guys think?  Is there enough shirtlessness on tv or is more needed?  And more importantly, are there any shirtless shows out there that we're missing?  Let us know!!

As always, thanks for stopping by!